Tag Archives: russian
UK gross mortgage lending slows, latest figures show
Gross mortgage borrowing in the UK in October was £10.5 billion, some 2% higher than in the same month last year, and 1.3% lower than in September 2014. The latest figures from the British Banking Association (BBA) also shows that approvals have dipped. Some £9.2 billion was approved in October, down from £9.5 billion in September. Compared to the same time a year earlier, approvals in October for house purchase were down 16%, remortgaging down 21% and equity withdrawal down 34%. The total number of mortgage approvals in October was 61,097, down 2.9% from 62,900 in September. According to David Newnes, director of Reeds Rains and Your Move estate agents, believes all looks okay for next year. ‘Since the dark days of the recession the UK property market has improved unrecognisably and leaving aside seasonal factors, there is still some momentum in the pipeline for 2015,’ he said. ‘However, today’s sharper than expected slowdown underlines the need for continued support. The majority of aspiring home owners still haven’t felt the benefits of a burgeoning economic recovery, and those households still deserve a leg up onto the property ladder,’ he explained. While the Bank of England and the Government have an admirable desire for long term sustainability in the British property market, that should be tempered with a balanced look at the next six months. Otherwise, until pay packets pick up, home ownership could remain a dream for too many families,’ he added. Continue reading
Wealthy Chinese and Russian buyers return to top end London homes market
A lowering of asking prices at the top end of the London property market seems to have led to an increase in sales of home in the £10 million plus range. Between January and October this year, the number of such properties sold by international agent Knight Frank increased by a third compared to the same period last year and was 92% higher than in 2012. This comes at a time when there is speculation over the sustainability of price growth in prime central London and the prospect of a mansion tax after next May’s general election, which have both resulted in more subdued demand. However, a large contributing factor is that vendors, who are typically discretionary sellers, have lowered their asking prices by between 5% and 10% in order to achieve a sale, according to the firm. ‘Once buyers re-priced at a more realistic level and the gap between the expectations of the vendor and the buyer closed, it triggered a flurry of activity,’ said Tim Wright of Knight Frank’s Prime Central London team. In June and July this year, Knight Frank sold as many £10 million plus properties as during the previous four months combined. ‘There has been talk of a drop in the number of transactions in the market and a slowing of price growth but this is due to the lack of data in the public domain,’ said Richard Cutt of Knight Frank’s Prime Central London team. ‘In the last quarter there have been a large number of flats bought from plan, off market, which have moved prices up and in some cases quite significantly. These sales only become public on completion and would paint a different picture of the market if they were factored in today. An example of this is the success of British Land’s Clarges Mayfair development,’ he added. The higher number of transactions is also underpinned by strengthening demand in recent months, with Russian buyers re-emerging after a period of uncertainty and Chinese buyers increasingly active in the £10 million plus price bracket. ‘The Russians are back. After a period of uncertainty and instability, they appear to have more clarity on where they stand, which has given them the confidence to get back into the market,’ said Wright. In the six months to October, Russian buyers accounted for 21% of super prime sales compared to 13% over the preceding six month period. However, given the economic backdrop in Russia, there is a marked difference between those that hold assets in roubles and those in US dollars, which is curbing the buying power of some. This year also saw mainland Chinese buyers become active in the super-prime market for the first time, accounting for 3% of sales after negligible demand in previous years. ‘We are beginning to see some serious interest from ultra-high net worth mainland Chinese buyers. Interestingly, it seems to be houses rather than flats or investment properties. These are buyers who clearly intend to spend time living in London… Continue reading
Overseas investment in UK commercial property market set to increase
Overseas investment in the UK commercial real estate market is having a positive impact and is set to increase over the next three to six months, according to new research. There has been a slight tapering in confidence after nearly two years of consistent growth in optimism and fewer property professionals expect investment to increase but around 60% of UK investors believe foreign investment has had positive impact. Increasing numbers expect activity to stabilise and the North West and London based smaller sized operators are more confident about the future, according to the latest confidence survey of real estate professionals by Lloyds Bank Commercial in association with the Investment Property Forum (IPF). Further analysis revealed that nearly73% of larger sized businesses surveyed and 70% of fund managers agreed, though this figure dipped to 60% amongst SME respondents. Given the increased level of foreign investment into this sector, a significant minority, at least 17%, of all respondents said that they had changed their business investment activity as a result of the influx of overseas capital. In particular 42% of fund managers and 30% of larger sized businesses stated that they have altered their business investment plans due to this influx. ‘For many regional commercial property operators the influx of foreign capital has widened the range of exit options and shifted focus away from UK institutional buyers,’ said John Feeney, global head of commercial real estate at Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking. ‘'Further a variety of foreign buyers are now active in regional UK markets including sovereign buyers seeking stabilised assets and more opportunistic investors willing to take asset management risk,’ he added. The latest survey also indicates that confidence in the UK’s commercial property market remains high, with over 60% of respondents believing that activity will continue to increase over the next three to six months. However, an increasing number believe that the market will level out. Around 25% to 36% of respondents now expect activity to remain at current levels for the next three to six months which compares to just under 20% in the CPCM’s last report in April. In line with a slight softening in confidence, the report suggests that prices will begin to stabilise as well. In the Spring 2014 CPCM only 3% of major businesses said prices would stay the same compared to 30% in this latest survey. Investment activity also looks set to increase, with fund managers reporting a slight increase in their investment intentions, rising from 70% to 72%, as did major businesses, with 53% planning to spend compared to 50% in April. ‘The UK’s market has soaked up a lot of capital over a short period of time and some investors, such as private equity funds, are turning their attention to the nascent investment market recovery in certain Eurozone countries particularly in the periphery,’ said Feeney. ‘The UK market is further advanced in… Continue reading
